With the comfort of Eleanor and Dominic, along with a special call from Ella urging her to focus on herself and ignore the outside noise, Aurora’s mood finally eased a little.
She didn’t dare to go online, let alone open her chat apps, fearing that those cursing her might be familiar classmates...
Her phone rang multiple times—it was Alexander calling. After she explained herself, Alexander coldly left her with one sentence: "I’ll talk to you at your place tonight."
Then, he hung up. It was obvious from his tone that he was furious.
Aurora’s heart clenched painfully again. Countless unfamiliar numbers kept calling her phone, until Eleanor simply turned it off for her.
"Not many people know your private number, right? Should we turn this one off too?" Dominic handed Aurora her private phone, one that only her boyfriend, family, and a few close friends knew about.
Aurora nodded. She really didn’t want to take any more calls from her so-called friends.
"Take a break at home for a few days and wait for further notice."
Seeing the exhaustion on Aurora’s face, Eleanor could only make this decision.
Aurora nodded slightly. With this scandal surrounding her, there was no way she would be getting any advertisements.
But... just the thought of facing Alexander tonight made her heart twist in pain again.
She loved Alexander, but now that everything had been exposed, would he ever trust her again?
Today, Alexander was supposed to finish a webpage design project, but he was completely out of it. In the end, he had to call a classmate to cover for him.
He went to the balcony alone to smoke, his hands trembling violently.
From the moment he met Aurora until before the scandal broke out, he had always seen her as a sacred, untouchable goddess.
But now, the explosive news on chat groups hit him like a thunderclap, shattering all the passion and love he once had for her.
His heart ached. How could he have ever imagined that the woman he loved—the goddess he revered like an angel—had once been pushed down by Everett?
Did they really have that kind of relationship?
Alexander suddenly recalled that night at Aurora’s place when he had wanted her, only for her to refuse. At the time, her entire body had been trembling, her lips quivering, as if she was terrified.
Was she afraid that he would find out she was no longer who she used to be?
Seven years of love, and he had always treated her with the utmost care, never touching her out of respect.
Alexander was livid. He kicked over a flower pot with a loud bang, the noise echoing through the balcony.
Inside, his coworkers exchanged glances, baffled by his sudden outburst.
Meanwhile, the chat group was already in chaos. After all, Aurora had been one of the most famous students in their class—the most successful among them.
She was beautiful, had a voice like a celestial being, and was someone no one could forget.
But now that a scandal had erupted, the chat was filled with people mocking and insulting her.
The most delighted person was none other than Danielle. Previously, she had been humiliated by Aurora at a gathering and hadn’t dared to speak up. Now, she was relishing every moment of Aurora’s downfall, seizing the opportunity to mock Alexander.
"Alexander, why are you so quiet now? Haha, didn’t you call me crazy before? You even said I was making things up!" Danielle gloated in the chat.
Brooke: Come on, don’t say that. Maybe there’s more to the story.
Classmate A: Tch, these days, even sluts like to act all righteous. Does she even know what she really is?
Classmate B: Told you so! Remember when Everett gave her all that expensive wine? There was definitely something shady going on. Looks like I was right!
Classmate C: Who cares if she slept her way to the top? She’s still doing better than us. In this world, people mock the poor, not the ones who sell themselves...
The conversation in the group chat grew increasingly vicious. Although Alexander hadn’t checked, he knew there was no escaping the cruel words.
That was human nature—when you were at the top, many would praise you; but the moment you fell, those same people would be the first to trample on you...
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.
Alexander was already irritated, but since this was his business phone, he had no choice but to pick up—it could be an important client.
"Hello, this is Alexander."
A smug chuckle came from the other end. "Oh, Alexander, it’s me, Danielle. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten me? Oh, right, I forgot—you don’t have my number."
Danielle’s gloating tone made his stomach churn.
"So, did you see the messages on the chat? Tsk tsk, your goddess of a girlfriend has cozied up to Everett, huh?"
Alexander didn’t even bother pretending to be civil. Danielle was the kind of petty woman who thrived on stirring up drama, and he had absolutely no patience for her nonsense.
Without hesitation, he blocked the number. But the frustration inside him didn’t subside. Instead, it boiled over. With a surge of anger, he hurled his phone to the ground, the loud crack drawing concerned glances from his coworkers.
Alexander had always maintained a solid reputation and strong connections at the company.
A colleague stepped out and frowned. "Boss, what’s going on? Why are you smashing your phone out of nowhere? That thing’s worth four or five grand, you know. Would be a shame if it broke."
"Get back inside and leave me the hell alone."
Alexander was seething. He had no idea how he was supposed to face Aurora later that night.
The colleague took another glance at him, then shook his head helplessly and returned to the office.
The sun dipped lower on the horizon, casting a thin layer of haze over the city skyline, making Alexander’s mood even worse.
But he wasn’t the only one in turmoil.
Everett was equally unsettled.
As soon as he caught wind of the scandal, he immediately ordered an investigation to find out who had uploaded the photos.
Of course, he had already heard about the incident outside NJ Corporation—Aurora had been publicly humiliated. That was why he had specifically asked Eric to check in on her.
He wanted to see her himself, but his pride held him back.
Still, whoever dared to harm the woman he loved wouldn’t get away with it.
Everett’s brows furrowed tightly, his face dark as ink. A restless urge surged within him—he wanted nothing more than to rush to Aurora’s side.
He had once doubted her, but now... now he was sure. She had taken root in his heart.
His phone rang again.
Everett scowled at the unknown number.
Could it be... Aurora? Maybe she was calling him for help, asking him to clear her name?
Eric had told him earlier that Aurora wasn’t in a good state of mind. He could already picture her pale, delicate face—drained, weary, and filled with pain.
A sharp pang twisted in Everett’s chest.
For the first time, he had truly fallen for a woman. And yet, all he had brought her was endless pain.
He was no villain—if he had known that Aurora hadn’t deliberately climbed into his bed, he never would have touched her.
After a brief hesitation, Everett finally answered the call.
A man’s voice came through the receiver.
Everett’s expression hardened. His tone turned ice-cold.
"I want to know... Did you ever threaten Aurora?"
The man’s voice was just as cold, just as sharp.